As countless meditators have learned firsthand, meditation practice can positively transform the way we see and experience our lives. This practical, accessible guide to the fundamentals of Buddhist meditation introduces you to the practice, explains how it is approached in the main schools of Buddhism, and offers advice and inspiration from Buddhisms most renowned and effective meditation teachers, including Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Sharon Salzberg, Norman Fischer, Ajahn Chah, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Sylvia Boorstein, Noah Levine, Matthieu Ricard, Judy Lief, and many others.

Topics include how to build excitement and energy to start a meditation routine and keep it going, setting up a meditation space, working with and through boredom, what to look for when seeking others to meditate with, how to know when its time to try doing a formal meditation retreat, how to bring the practice off the cushion with walking meditation and other practices, and much more.

ROD MEADE SPERRY is an editor and writer for the Shambhala Sun, North America's leading Buddhist-inspired magazine. He was a founding member of what is now called Boundless Way Zen, a rapidly growing Buddhist community based in New England.

Contents:
Beginner's Guide to Meditation

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction

xi

PART 1

Let's Get Started

1

Basic Breath Meditation: It Doesn't Get Simpler Than This by Melvin McLeod